OT: He wants me to get Baptized?

[khmsct99]

The Adoptive Father would like me to get Baptized… tomorrow!

Here is the problem:

My adoptive family is Baptist. We attend a Baptist Church every Sunday. My adoptive sister, got saved last year. Tomorrow morning, she is getting Baptized.

My adoptive father is wanting me to get Baptized, as well. About 5 or 6 years ago, I apparently got saved. Not sure what it was though. I remember the teacher just said that you had to get saved to get into Heaven. So, at that point of my life, I feared I would not get into Heaven. So I tried anything. I told the teacher I wanted to get saved. We went to the corner of the room and the teacher started to pray and that I had to “repeat” what he said, but I don’t think I did. I think I just prayed in my head, slowly. Afterwards, he said that I was saved.

I didn’t understand what had happened though.

I never got Baptized.

Today, we were driving somewhere, and the a. father brought up her getting Baptized tomorrow morning at church. Then he asked if I wanted to get Baptized tomorrow over there tomorrow as well.

I said, I am not sure.

(I prefer to get Baptized in a Catholic Church.)

Then he asked why, and I said, I wasn’t really sure. Then we kept talking and he brought up other denominations and forms of Christianity.

Yes, he brought up Catholicism.

He started saying that there was not a big difference in any denomination.

He kept saying what everything meant, and that you must get saved and accept Jesus or else you will not go to Heaven. That getting Baptized just symbolizes you becoming a new person.

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So, I just don’t know what to do really. I mean, I can’t just say I am going to be Catholic so I will wait. He will get very mad.

What should I do? Especially since he will bring the subject up again tomorrow!

 

[EasterJoy]

If you want to get baptized, a baptism with water via the Trinitarian formula given in the Bible is normally considered valid by the Catholic Church. If you are baptized in that manner, you would not be re-baptized if you are received into the Catholic Church. (It is a good idea to get a baptismal certificate or a letter from the person who baptized you, as evidence.)

For instance, a Baptist baptism is normally considered valid by the Catholic Church. A Mormon baptism is not, as it is a quite different animal (which even the Mormons say, since they also do not consider a Catholic baptism to be a real baptism in their denomination).

It is the actual ritual that counts, not that it is called a “baptism” and not that it is performed by a Catholic. According to canon law, a non-Christian can even perform a valid baptism, if that is the only person available to do it.

 

[heidi_storage]

I think you ought to wait to be baptized; look into the faith more and be sure you know what “being saved” means. Not that I want to discourage you from baptism–far from it!–but it sounds like you could stand to learn a little more about different Christian faiths. And don’t let him pressure you into anything; a profession of faith of any kind must be genuine, and normally people who are old enough go through a fair amount of preparation, meeting with the minister, etc before being baptized. Good luck!

 

[sousley]

Agree with Easter Joy. A valid baptism depends on matter and form. The matter is water and the form is "In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Baptist church does use this matter and form.

That is not to say that your step-father is correct in his statement about one church’s baptism being the same as another’s. For over 2000 years, the Catholic Church has taught as the apostle’s did, that baptism was the sign of the new Covenant in Jesus Christ. Jesus taught in John 3:3 (and 3:5) that 'unless you are born again of water and the Spirit you cannot enter the Kingdom of God. St. Paul tells us that baptism is the new covenant’s circumcision and St. Peter tells us that 'as Noah and his family were saved through the waters of the flood, so are we now saved by the water of baptism. This has been the constant faith of the Church since the apostolic times.

In 1632, a man named Roger Williams started the First Baptist Church in America. One of the beliefs of this church was to reject that baptism saved or was required for salvation (contrary to Jesus and the Apostles). They hold a doctrine that says that a profession of faith (a prayer) imputes the necessary grace for salvation; the followup baptism is simply a public display of this profession. There are other differences in teaching, but I will restrict to baptism only, since that was your question.

However, even a lack of faith doesn’t make the baptism invalid. The Catholic Church teaches that as God is the author of the blessing, the disposition of the administrator is not a hindrance to God’s ability to deliver that blessing. So even if a Catholic priest struggles with believing in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the Eucharist is still valid because it’s validity doesn’t depend of the faith of the priest. And even if the Baptist doesn’t believe in the efficacy of grace in baptism, God is still in charge and it is still valid.

That said, Kudos to you, for listening to call to look at the teachings of the Catholic Church. It can be very difficult when many family members that you love are of other faiths. Keep learning about the teachings of the Church, read your bible, remember to thank your parents for loving God and trying to pass their love to you. God Bless.